CB Radio shops on the road..any good ones?

[FlatBroke]

I have been driving for 14 years plus...I have heard a lot of shops mentioned. We should start a list, of good and bad CB repair shops out on the road.

My list is very small lol...

Good: CB Radio Ministries Perrysburg, OH.
South of the TA truck stop on RT. 420 located in the same building as the tire shop..South on RT.420 to RT. 163 turn left then an immediate right into the parking lot.
The owner is a very good technician. I have delt with these guy's for almost 14 years, never had a minutes trouble from anything I have purchased or anything they have worked on.

Expensive: Movin on CB Shop Anna,OH.
Exit 99 on I-75
I stopped in here to get a radio and antenna installed, the radio is a connex 4600 turbo, and a wilson 5000.
They jumped right on it..pulled me inside their building and 3 or 4 guys came and started working. They had it done in less than an hour. They were exceptionally fast.
This is not always good. They adjusted my swr's inside the metal building. I am no expert here but I have played a radio a time or two. You don't adjust swr's from inside a metal building and expect them to be right.
Anyway, the bill came to $99.00 for the installation...I had everything except a $12.00 antenna that needed to be put on the passenger side for AM/FM reception...the rest was labor! I cannot say anything other than I thought they were very expensive, they did a great install...but the swr inside a building trick didn't fly real high with me. I took it onto Perrysburg and had CB Ministries to recheck the swr and sure enough they were high. No other problems, but this was for an INSTALL only...

[2xR]

Wolfman's Electronics in Carnesville, GA at exit 164 on I-85, in the usually vacant (sometimes there is a tenant) truck stop parking lot. He's in a little shop over in the corner of the lot, near the woods.

On most days, Brother Chris will be hawkin' on the radio, and, can be heard from Houston to Boston.

Six days a week, and, Wednesday is a short day because of prayer meeting on Wednesday night.

He ain't cheap, but, he's good and sells the good stuff. He'll horse trade ya, too. Great source for converted import radios and foot warmers. Installations are thorough and look like factory.

SWR is calibrated using an big resistance meter that measures ohms of resistance at the radio end of the coax. The radio is not in the equation.

Wolfman moved to the SC side of the boarder for a while (exit 4) into a nice suite upstairs of a truck stop. Right after the move his 16 year old Son, who was always with his dad in the shop, fell over dead from an aneurysm. They moved back to Georgia and their old shop. I haven't been to see them since. My last ride that deep into Dixie was the day after his death.

The CB Shop in Oak Grove, TN at exit 163 on I-40. They're open 24-7 and are reasonably priced. They do good and reliable work. SWR check is free. Bench testing is free.

I go here for repairs and maintenance since I don't get to GA anymore. Unless my radio, Galaxy 88 H/L, breaks I take care of everything else, like coaxes, antenna, wiring, and such.

[edgarallenho]

Wolfman's Electronics in Carnesville, GA at exit 164 on I-85, in the usually vacant (sometimes there is a tenant) truck stop parking lot. He's in a little shop over in the corner of the lot, near the woods.

I wonder if he's the same guy that had his shop at the I-81 Petro ex 160 several years ago ?

He was about 45 or 50 back then,I'd guess.

He removed an amplifier the con artist at the old 76 N of Charlotte I-77 had installed....(no effect on trans or receiving distance) .. I had requested a Connex.

He showed me what a sample Connex installation should look like.

I was very impressed with his honesty and professionalism.

Also amazed when he said he had never been more than 75 miles from his home in his life.

[Blue skies and black tops]

You want to know how to tell a good shop from a bad one?

It's very simple. When you walk into the shop look around for a oscilloscope,signal generator and a dummy load or ask them if they have em. If they dont or do but dont know how to use them then take your radio and walk out the door because you will be wasting you money if you allow them to work on your radio. It takes a helluva a lot more than a power supply and a dosy meter to set up a radio correctly! Having a shop that has the proper tools will make the difference between having a loud but clean radio that has great receive or having one that is over modulated/distorted and that you can only hear people that are close to you!

[Cerberus]

There is a good CB shop in Carlyse PA next door to the Petro.

[Sinister]

The only radio shop I go to is the 12-volt in Barkeyville, PA, which is now located in the Kwik Fill truck stop.

The guy who runs it writes (or used to write) a column for a trucking publication, so I figured he had his stuff together.

What makes me nervous about radio shops, and part of the reason I only go to one, is that there really isn't anything that qualifies any of these guys who work in these shops as a "CB Expert". Most of the time, by looking at them, I kind of think they basically couldn't work anywhere else. I think there is ONE whole CB Tech school in the entire country, and I can imagine enrollment is almost nil.

Anyway, I think it's important that when you do find a good radio shop, to stick with it, and only go to that one, or maybe that one, and one other. I've found that guys who are in and out of radio shops all the time are 1) addicted to blowing money in radio shops and 2) always having problems because their systems become a hodgepodge of half assed knowledge.

Anyway, I bought my General Lee from 12 Volt almost four years ago. It pushes 44 watts, with 2 Wilson 2000's, on factory (garbage) co-ax. I hung it in the truck, adjusted the SWR's and have no had one problem one time. Nothing special, but if I need to talk to a lead escort a mile ahead of me, I can.

OH! I almost forgot!

A few weeks ago, I saw a guy who had his retardedly huge coil antennas slanted forward damn near 90 degrees. Aside from being out of style 10 years ago...

#1 - Really large coils on antennas don't do anything more than the little ones. Otherwise "real" antenna makers like Wilson and K40 would make them. It's a marketing gimmick.

#2 Slanting them forward that far dumps about 50% of your signal right into the ground. CB modulation is an AM band, line of sight signal. If the line of sight is right into the ground, guess where your signal is going. If you want to slant them forward, do it enough that they stand up perfectly straight when the truck is moving at highway speed. That makes the most sense.

OH #2:

I've heard that any Galaxy with 3 numbersn (959, etc.) is basically a cobra 29, and that if you want a "real" Galaxy, stick with one with two numbers, like a 66, or a 99.

[ridermark]

I-65 at exit 65 in Ky. big dummys I've had work done and no problems. And yes he does have the equipment

[delta5]

If a cb shop offers to do the "whack-pack" mod (aka strapping the radio), run the other way! This is a lame hack where they bypass all the voltage regulators and run 12 volts right too the final transistors. The radio will actually get warm from this. Its a half-assed mod that will eventually burn up the radio. Beware...

[Keendriver]

The only radio shop I go to is the 12-volt in Barkeyville, PA, which is now located in the Kwik Fill truck stop.

The guy who runs it writes (or used to write) a column for a trucking publication, so I figured he had his stuff together.

What makes me nervous about radio shops, and part of the reason I only go to one, is that there really isn't anything that qualifies any of these guys who work in these shops as a "CB Expert". Most of the time, by looking at them, I kind of think they basically couldn't work anywhere else. I think there is ONE whole CB Tech school in the entire country, and I can imagine enrollment is almost nil.

Anyway, I think it's important that when you do find a good radio shop, to stick with it, and only go to that one, or maybe that one, and one other. I've found that guys who are in and out of radio shops all the time are 1) addicted to blowing money in radio shops and 2) always having problems because their systems become a hodgepodge of half assed knowledge.

Anyway, I bought my General Lee from 12 Volt almost four years ago. It pushes 44 watts, with 2 Wilson 2000's, on factory (garbage) co-ax. I hung it in the truck, adjusted the SWR's and have no had one problem one time. Nothing special, but if I need to talk to a lead escort a mile ahead of me, I can.

OH! I almost forgot!

A few weeks ago, I saw a guy who had his retardedly huge coil antennas slanted forward damn near 90 degrees. Aside from being out of style 10 years ago...

#1 - Really large coils on antennas don't do anything more than the little ones. Otherwise "real" antenna makers like Wilson and K40 would make them. It's a marketing gimmick.

#2 Slanting them forward that far dumps about 50% of your signal right into the ground. CB modulation is an AM band, line of sight signal. If the line of sight is right into the ground, guess where your signal is going. If you want to slant them forward, do it enough that they stand up perfectly straight when the truck is moving at highway speed. That makes the most sense.

OH #2:

I've heard that any Galaxy with 3 numbersn (959, etc.) is basically a cobra 29, and that if you want a "real" Galaxy, stick with one with two numbers, like a 66, or a 99.

Is this the guy that used to run LIVEWIRE at exit 3?Very professional shop,nice equipment and the prices were reasonable.

[Sinister]

It might be, I'm not sure. That name does sound familiar...